Half to joseph mayer



(No Model.)

E MAYBE POTTER-S BLOCK AND BATIER.`

No. 419.609. Patented Jan.'14,1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT i OFFICE.

ERNEST MAYER, OF NEV BRIGHTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO JOSEPH MAYER, OF SAME PLACE.

PoTTERs BLOCK AND BAT'TER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 419,609, dated January 14, 1890.

Application filed November 26, 1889. Serial No. 331,635. (No model.)

To all whom t may con/cern.:

Be it known that I, ERNEST MAYER, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Brighton, in the county of Beaver and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Potters Blocks and Batters, of which the following is a speciication.

My invention relates to appliances used in the preparation of the bat or lump of clay prior to the last process of molding or forming such clay into the finished shape in which it is to be dried, burned, or fired, and more particularly to what are known as ipotters blocks and batters.

Heretofore it has been the general custom to construct such blocks of plaster-ofparis, and the batters also in like manner, a foundation or core of earthenware or baked clay being used, which was provided with a knob or handle, and the plaster-of-paris was formed ormolded upon this foundation. These, however, are open to the objection that they require saturating With a certain volume of Water before using, that they are subject to chip, check, or disintegrate, and that small portions of the plaster become detached from the block or batter and are attached to the bat and remain embedded therein, whereby they destroy or at least deteriorate from the value of -tached to t-he body of the blocks; but this is open to the objection that the clay sticks to the chamois or calf skin, and these surfaces absorb moisture from the bat and become swollen, uneven, and irregular, and, aside from these objections, they are expensive to make and manufacture.

The object of my invention is to overcome the objections to such blocks and batters and to provide blocks and bat-t ers ,which are cheap, simple of construction, and Well adapted for the purposes for which they are intended.

To these ends my invention consists in a potters block'or batter constructed of a material which is easy of manufacture into the desired shape and of a nature to retain such shape indefinitely; and it further consists iny providing the working-faces of such blocks and batters with a material that shall be at once smooth, porous, and of a permanent character. This I accomplish by constructing the blocks and batters in the manner substantially hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal section of one form .of batter, and Fig. 2 is a like sectional View of a block embodying my invention.

The batter consists, essentially, of abody D, of Wood', which is made of any desired shape, according to the purpose for which it is to be used, and to this body I attach a handle d in any approved or convenient manner. Upon the Working-face c of this block I fix a facing E, of felt, felted hair, felted wool, or similar and equivalent material, of a thickness depending upon the purposes to which it is to be put and the character of the bats to be operated upon. The block A also has a body of Wood of the desired shape, and may be provided with lugs a or other equivalent devices by which it can be securely attached to a bench or table C, and the working-surface Z2 of this block is covered with a facing B, of felt or felted fabric. It will thus be seen that with the blocks and batters constructed, essentially, of a body of Wood made in any desired form or shape, and having the Working or operative surfaces covered With a facing of felt or felt fabric. I have tools always ready for Work Without saturating with Water or other preparation and having surfaces not liable to injury from any ordinary cause, free from checks, chips, or disintegrations, and not in any Way injurious to the bat or Ware in its after manipulation.

I have found that a good quality of felted the block in any suitable Way; but I prefer 9 to cement the surface to the blocks and bat# ters, and I have found ordinary alcoholene shellac forms an excellent cement for this purpose; but I may use any cement or glue which will make a joint impervious to moist- IOO ure and which does not affect the porosity f the felt.

\Vhi1e I prefer to use Wood as the body of the blocks and batters, I do not in all cases confine myself to such substance, as the body may be made of metal, baked clay, or other similar material, and the facing of felt or felt fabric can be secured thereto and still attain to a great extent the benets of my in Vent-ion.

Having thus described lny invention, what I claim is l. A potters block or batter havingl a solid body and a facing of {ibi-ous fabric, substantially as described. 

